McDonald's Taste Test: Preschoolers "Think" It Tastes Better

As long as there are arches, the taste can't be beat according to preschoolers.

In a study conducted by Stanford pediatric doctors, research and tests showed that children between the ages of three and five years old often preferred the taste of food if it came wrapped up in a McDonald's package, regardless of the contents inside. Dr. Thomas Robinson, the study leader, noticed that from earlier studies a child's brand preference can become affected by a television commercial even after viewing it just once. He decided to take the study step further and see if it could affect their taste buds just from the packaging.

His test method was fairly simple. Dr. Robinson asked a group of kids in the specific age range if they wanted to play a taste testing game. He used children from Head Start, a program that helps underprivileged families. Unknown to the children, Dr. Robinson wrapped up identical food in two different packages: one in a basic McDonald's wrapper and one in a plain, brown bag that was labeled "hamburger" or "nuggets". One assistant behind a screen (to avoid adult influence) would place the food on a tray, asks the child to taste it and then tell which one was best.

It turns out that out of the three possible answers (the plain one, the branded one, and tastes the same), the children preferred the McDonald's brand between 54% and 77% of the time, depending on the food item.

They even used carrots wrapped in McDonald's paper even though McDonald's doesn't sell carrots.

The testers did everything they could so that the children could make their own choices without influence. Not only was the aide asking the question unable to see the children directly, he wasn't allowed to give feedback or ask follow-up questions when the child made his or her choice. Even kids who couldn't answer were defaulted to the "tastes the same" category, and the McDonald's wrapper still won out.

"These results add evidence to support recommendations to regulate or ban advertising or marketing of high-calorie, low-nutrient foods and beverages, or all marketing, that is directed to young children," Robinson noted in the study. "This approach has been advocated based on evidence that advertising to young children is inherently unfair because most children younger than 7 to 8 years are unable to understand the persuasive intent of advertising."

Other interesting statistics were found while surveying the children and their homes. Out of 63 of the children who participated, only two had never eaten at McDonald's before. Two-thirds of the parents said they have McDonald's toys in their house. One-third said that they regularly eat at McDonald's with their kids. And half of the kids have a television in their bedroom.

All of these factors most likely contributed to the taste preference, according to the study. Said Robinson: "These taste preferences emerged despite the fact that 3 of the foods were from McDonald's and only the branding was changed, indicating that the effects were not due to familiarity with the taste or smell of McDonald's food."

SOURCE:

Archive of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, August 2007 Issue

URL:

http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/161/8/792?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=mcdonalds&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&resourcetype=HWCIT